That's usually where I'll be

Through to You by Lauren Barnholdt

Title: Through to YouAuthor: Lauren BarnholdtSeries: No SeriesPublisher: Simon Pulse Published: July 8th, 2014Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 out of 5)

Quick Look:

I wanted a light, fast read that was going to make me happy. That’s what I got. Is the book perfect? No. But it did succeed in making me happy for the afternoon that I read it. And sometimes that’s just what you need from a book.The summary of Through to You from Goodreads:

Opposites attract—and then complicate—in this romantic, relatable novel from the author of Two-Way Street and Sometimes It Happens.

It starts with a scribbled note in class: I like your sparkle. Harper had casually threaded a piece of blue and silver tinsel through her ponytail in honor of school spirit day. And that carefree, corny gesture is what grabs Penn Mattingly’s eye. Penn—resident heartbreaker of the senior class. Reliably unreliable. Trouble with a capital “T.” And okay, smolderingly sexy.

Harper’s surprised by Penn’s attention—and so is Penn. The last thing he needs is a girlfriend. Or even a friend-with-benefits. The note is not supposed to lead to anything.

Oh, but it does. They hang out. They have fun. They talk. They make out. And after a while, it seems like they just click. But Penn and Harper have very different ideas about what relationships look like, in no small part because of their very different family backgrounds. Of course they could talk about these differences—if Penn knew how to talk about feelings.

Harper and Penn understand their attraction is illogical, yet something keeps pulling them together. It’s like a crazy roller coaster—exhilarating, terrifying, and amazing all at once. And neither knows how to stop the ride…

What I Liked:

I’m going to try to avoid spoilers, but the first thing I liked about this book might have minor spoilerish things. I won’t give away major plot points, but you’re going to have an idea of things that happen.

Harper has a backbone. She knows when to walk away. She knows when she’s had enough and when she needs to let things go before they destroy her. So often the main female character overlooks things that they shouldn’t, they forgive too quickly because the guy gives her puppy eyes and says sorry. Harper believes in forgiveness, but she also knows when to acknowledge a pattern of behavior. She knows when she needs to take care of herself instead of worrying about others. I loved that part of her personality.

Penn…eh. He’s a good love interest, but not my favorite. I thought he was sweet at times, but the way he ignored his problems kind of grated on me after a while. He complains about his family ignoring the truth, yet he does the same thing without realizing it. Not recognizing or acknowledging a problem rarely makes it go away, and running from your problems certainly doesn’t help.

I did like that Harper and her mother seemed to have a healthy relationship (more on this in a moment). Harper trusts her mom and her mom trusts her. Her mom is protective, but also seems to understand when to take a step back and let her daughter live her life.

What I Didn’t Like:

Okay. More on the mom-daughter relationship here. The parts of it that were shown were wonderful. I just wish there had been a little bit more. For as solid as their relationship was, I felt like it wasn’t portrayed as actually being a major influence on Harper’s life.

My second issue has to do with Harper and her life away from Penn. I already wrote that she has a backbone, but I did have a problem with her character. She was written as devoted to dancing, to preparing for her major audition for Ballard. Yet once she started dating Penn, that focus seemed to fall away. It was mentioned in passing, but it didn’t seem to be an important part of her life anymore. Her life became Penn and I wish it didn’t. I wanted more of her life.

I’d Recommend To:

If you want a fast, flirty read that will give you a happy afternoon, I’d suggest this book. It’s got enough of a sweet romance to make you smile, but not enough to shatter your heart. It’s a good read for when you just want to feel happy by the end.